Cheesecake

'Nuff said.  I confess, I didn't make this.  It was my Dad's birthday this weekend, so my little sister Jackie made this beautiful dessert for a late afternoon picnic.  I'll see if I can snag the recipe from her, but for now I hope you enjoy this feast for the eyes!

Salsa Verde (Roasted Tomatillo Salsa)

Hi everyone! Long time no blog, I'm sorry but will blame it on the beginning of intern year.... and also laziness.  I made it to the Farmer's Market on Saturday morning and found a vendor selling some beautiful looking tomatillos.  Here's a super simple and fresh salsa recipe that you can use on anything from enchiladas, to chips and dip or dumping on top of tacos.

Roasted Tomatillo Chile Salsa

(adapted from Tyler Florence)
:: 1 pound tomatillos, husks removed and halved
:: 1 onion, peeled and quartered
:: 1-2 jalapenos
:: 8 cloves garlic
:: 2 tsp cumin
:: 1 tsp salt
:: 1/2 tsp pepper
:: juice of 1/2 lime
:: 1/2 cup cilantro

Pre-heat oven to 450 degrees.  Put first 4 ingredients on a large sheet tray or cookie sheet and roast for about 15 minutes.

Using a food processor, combine the roasted ingredients with the remaining ones.  Blend until combined but still chunky.

That's it!

And on a completely unrelated note, here are some accidentally overexposed photos from Veritas Winery from the weekend that I nevertheless still enjoy looking at.  Virginia, you're doin' it rite.

Yogurt Sauce

This stuff is gooood.  You can eat it with naan or any other crusty bread, pita chips, meatballs, whatever you like.

Yogurt Sauce 

(makes a little over 1 cup)

:: 1 cup plain yogurt (I actually prefer regular yogurt over Greek, as the Greek kind is a little bit too thick)

:: 1 clove garlic, finely minced

:: juice of 1 lemon

:: zest of 1 lemon

:: s & p

optional (but recommended)

:: 1 tbsp chopped parsley

:: 1 tbsp chopped mint

:: 2 tbsp finely chopped cucumber

Mix it up! Eat it with everything!!

Lebanese Meatballs

My big sister is a great cook.  I love hanging out at her house because my niece is there, but also because I know she'll feed me delicious things.  Oh yeah, I also enjoy her and her husband's company ;]  The last time I went home, she whipped these babies up, and I just had to make them again a few days later.

I love meatballs because you can really change up the flavor profile.  Classic Italian meatballs are lovely, but you could even do Asian inspired, or in this case, put a Middle Eastern spin on them.  This meatball recipe incorporates tons and tons of herbs, which I love.  I used half beef / half lamb, but these are also really nice with just beef (a bit cheaper, too!).  

Serving suggestions: naan, hummus, yogurt sauce, cucumber and tomato salad

Lebanese Beef and Lamb Meatballs 

adapted from The view from Great Island Lebanese Meatballs

(serves 8; make and freeze half if only serving 4)

:: 1 pound ground beef (I used 85/15)

:: 1 pound ground lamb

:: 2 eggs, beaten

:: 1/2 cup bread crumbs
:: 1 cup crumbled feta cheese
:: 1 cup finely chopped scallions

:: 1/2 cup chopped parsley
:: 1/2 cup chopped mint
:: 2 tsp ground cumin

:: 2 tsp ground cinnamon

:: 1 tsp ground cardamom, optional (if you use cardamom, just use 1 tsp cinnamon)

:: 2 tsp ground allspice
:: s & p 

:: olive oil, for browning meatballs

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F.

Combine all ingredients together with as little mixing as possible (a fork is a good utensil for this).  

Form meatballs, I made mine about 1-inch in diameter.  Heat a pan over medium-high heat.

Brown the meatballs in a few batches, rotating each meatball a few times.  Transfer meatballs to a baking dish and let bake for about 10-15 minutes to finish cooking.  

Best Buttermilk Pancakes

I'm not a huge breakfast person, but a good fluffy pancake with some bacon and hot coffee can really hit the spot.  I hope you enjoy this recipe!

Since there is so much buttermilk in this recipe, it's best to go with real buttermilk, but if you're desperately short on buttermilk on a Sunday morning, you can always try this.  This recipe is very very barely sweetened, so I'd recommend you have some maple syrup or fruit topping on hand!

Buttermilk Pancakes

(makes 10-12 large pancakes)

:: 2 cups flour

:: 3 tbsp sugar

:: 2 tsp baking powder

:: 1 tsp baking soda

:: 1/3 tsp salt

:: 2 cups buttermilk

:: 2 eggs

:: 1/3 cup milk

:: 3 tbsp melted butter

Heat a non-stick pan or griddle over medium heat.  Mix all dry ingredients together.  Mix all wet ingredients together separately.  Mix wet and dry mixtures when ready to make pancakes.

This batter has butter in it so you don't really need to grease the pan.  I sprayed a bit of cooking spray anyway.  I used a 1/3 c measuring cup to scoop the batter onto the griddle, but you can pour it as well (this can sometimes get messy though). Cook on the first side until bubbles begin to form on top, about 1 minute.  Flip pancake and let the second side brown as well, about 30 seconds. 

Beatty's Chocolate Cake by the Barefoot Contessa

Happy belated birthdays to my two big sisters and my mom! Since they all fall so close together, we decided to celebrate the three together.  This is by far my sister Tina's favorite cake recipe, and she requests it every year.  It is a moist chocolate cake, but by no means the most decadent or rich one I've ever tasted.  The coffee component adds a nice touch but isn't overpowering, and the frosting? Just check out the ingredients - how could that combination not be delicious?!  

The one complaint I received was "Sunny, why were you so stingy with the frosting?!!!" Mea culpa.  I'll glop it on next time.

This was a funny picture that happened accidentally when my little sister and I 

tried to eat the cupcake with a fork.  He's not really sad; just delicious.  

 

I made cupcakes instead of a 2 layer cake just for portability, but either would work!

Breakfast Crepes

I love crepes.  Not much you can argue with - they're essentially thin pancakes with crispy edges that you can stuff full of different things both sweet or savory. 

I made 2 kinds - one smothered in Nutella, and another (pictured above) with lemon zest, juice, a sprinkling of sugar and blackberries.

Crepes, adapted from Alton Brown
(makes ~18 crepes)

:: blender
:: 8 in nonstick pan

:: 2 eggs
:: 3/4 cup milk (preferably whole)
:: 1/2 cup water
:: 1 cup flour
:: 1 tsp vanilla
:: 3 tbsp melted butter + butter for each crepe
:: 2 tbsp sugar
:: 1 tsp salt

Combine all ingredients in the blender and pulse for about 15-20 seconds.  Set aside in refrigerator for ideally an hour to let bubbles subside (otherwise your crepes will be delicate and liable to tear).

Heat pan over medium-high heat.  Melt a small amount of butter on the pan for each crepe, then pour about 1/3 cup of batter into the center of the pan.  Immediately begin swirling pan around until it covers the bottom of the pan, let cook for about 40 seconds. 

Flip over (I found a spatula to be the most useful tool for this) and cook an additional 15 seconds.  Lay flat on a plate while you cook the rest. 

Serve with whatever you'd like! This recipe works also great as a savory crepe, but I would probably omit the 2 tbsp of sugar in that case.

Asian Chicken

I used to make this all the time in college for a quick and easy dinner.  I love dark meat chicken, but you're welcome to use whatever kind you life.  You could even buy family-size packs, marinate the whole lot, and throw in just a few pieces into individual freezer bags.  Once you freeze it, you can defrost at your leisure throughout the month.

Asian Marinated Chicken

:: 2 pounds chicken (I used whole legs, whatever cut works)
:: 1/2 cup honey or sugar
:: 3/4 cup soy sauce
:: 3/4 cup water
:: 8 cloves garlic, smashed or minced
:: 3 scallions, cut into 1-in pieces
:: 1-inch chunk of ginger, cut into thin discs
:: 1 tbsp rice wine vinegar
:: hot sauce to taste, or 1 jalapeno, sliced thinly
:: 1 tsp sesame oil

Mix everything together except for the chicken.  If you are using skinless chicken, marinate for about 6 hours.  If you are using skin-on chicken, marinate overnight.  In retrospect, I probably would have poked a few holes in the skin to let the marinade really penetrate.

When you're ready to eat, pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees.  Lay the chicken skin-side down in a baking pan, pour marinade over chicken.  Bake for 25 minutes, turn heat up to 375, and flip chicken over.  Bake an additional 25 minutes.** 

Remove chicken from oven and let rest for 5 minutes before serving.  If you'd like a thicker sauce at this point, pour excess marinade from roasting pan into a small saucepan over medium heat.  Meanwhile, combine 1 tbsp corn starch with 1 tbsp COLD water into a slurry.  Stream the corn starch slurry into the chicken marinade, stirring the whole time until sauce thickens.

I served this with white rice and broccoli!
** for crispier skin, bake at 350 for 25 minutes, 375 for 20 minutes, and broil on low for the last 5 minutes of cooking time.